My enormous thanks to Robert Bryndza for sending me a copy of his latest Kate Marshall thriller Devil’s Way in return for an honest review. I’m delighted to share that review today.

Devil’s Way will be published by Raven Street on 12th January 2023 and is available for purchase through the links here.

Devil’s Way

THE TRUTH HIDES IN THE DARK

Kate Marshall’s investigation into a young boy’s disappearance sends her down an unexpectedly twisted path in a riveting thriller by multi-million bestselling author, Robert Bryndza. 

When Private Investigator Kate Marshall is rushed to hospital after being pulled into a riptide current in the sea, the near-death experience leaves her shaken. During her recovery, she befriends Jean, an elderly lady on the same ward. Jean tells the harrowing story of how her three-year-old grandson, Charlie, went missing eleven years ago during a camping trip on Dartmoor.

By the time Kate is well enough to go home, she’s agreed to take on the case, but when Kate and her trusty sidekick Tristan start to look at the events of that fateful night, they discover that Jean has a dark past that could have put Charlie in jeopardy.

Was Charlie abducted? Or did he fall into Devil’s Way? A rushing river that vanishes into a gorge close to where they were camping.

When Kate and Tristan discover that a social worker who flagged concerns about Jean and her daughter was found brutally murdered shortly after Charlie vanished, it makes them question everything they thought they knew about the family…

Filled with twists and turns, Devil’s Way is the fourth Kate Marshall novel and the most gripping and satisfying yet!

My Review of Devil’s Way

Kate Marshall has a new case to solve.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Devil’s Way. There’s a vivacity to Robert Bryndza’s style that draws in the reader and propels them through the narrative from the dramatic opening pages to the very last word. I’m so annoyed with myself that it has taken me so long to discover his books. 

A really vivid sense of place in the area where Charlie disappeared adds a sensation of malevolence that heightens the reader’s sense of dread and tension. There’s an almost supernatural undercurrent that I found creepy and effective. I thought the plot was assured, credible and completely engaging because there are resonances of real cases so that this story feels authentic and believable even whilst it’s being entertaining. Devil’s Way is all the better for not being a standard police procedural, but having private investigators who give a fresh perspective to solving crimes. 

I thought Kate was an inspired character. A female protagonist heading for fifty feels such a treat and a change from the usual 30 somethings of so many stories. I loved the fact that she’s multi-faceted with a murky past and her own problems that make her feel real and genuine. It didn’t matter at all that this is the fourth book in the series and I haven’t read the others because Kate’s back story was woven in with subtlety and Devil’s Way could easily be enjoyed as a stand alone text. I also found Jean fascinating because Robert Bryndza writes with human understanding that gets beneath the surface of a character and explores the psychological and social elements that make them who they are. His weaving in of mental health, social services and the way we present public personas adds depth too, making for a really satisfying read. 

I found Devil’s Way fast paced, absorbing and fascinating. Although the story is resolved perfectly, Robert Bryndza leaves the reader pondering the outcome and thinking about the characters long after they’ve finished reading so that the book has a resonance that endures. I really appreciated this level of maturity and sensitivity. Devil’s Way may be my first Robert Bryndza read, but it most certainly won’t be the last. I really enjoyed it and can highly recommend it.

About Robert Bryndza

Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over five million copies.

His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).

Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller. Fatal Witness, the seventh Erika Foster novel, has recently been published.

Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 18 countries. The second book in the series is the global bestselling, Shadow Sands and the third book, Darkness Falls.

Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn’t find success until he took a play he’d written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.

You can find out more about Robert and his books on his website. You can also find him on Facebook and Instagram.